June 16, 2025 Image Dr. Melissa Rands has been promoted to Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), effective August 4, 2025. She will provide leadership for strategic initiatives, academic planning, and faculty development. A 1997 MCAD graduate and first-generation college student, Dr. Rands has been a leader in higher education for over twenty-five years, serving in senior-level administrative positions in student and academic affairs in Canada and the United States.“I am confident that with her highly impressive background Dr. Rands will move MCAD forward by concentrating on innovative practices, quality of curriculum, and positive outcomes for our student body,” stated MCAD President Gwendolyn Freed.As a researcher, Dr. Rands has focused on the intersection of social learning theory and design education. She has collaborated with researchers in various disciplines, including K-12 and college-level learning; teacher and faculty development; critical and creative thinking; design learning; and research and evaluation methods. Her research has been published in national journals and presented at academic conferences on design, higher education, and evaluation. She regularly lectures on research methods, creativity, design thinking, and theories of student development. During the last six years as Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Rands co-led the college’s academic strategy, oversaw academic planning and policy development, and helped create innovative programs, such as the MA in Creative Leadership. Her experience includes strategic planning, fostering corporate partnerships, leading re-accreditation efforts, and securing grants and sponsorships. Before joining MCAD, she held positions at the European League of Institutes of the Arts (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Maryland Institute College of Art, University of Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada), and Iowa State University.An advocate for international higher education, Dr. Rands serves as an Expert Evaluator for the European Commission and has been a panel reviewer for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program of the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education. She earned a Fulbright award for International Education Administrators to Germany in 2006. Dr. Rands holds a Ph.D. in Education with a focus on Higher Education Leadership from Iowa State University, a Master of Arts in Media Management from the HKU University of the Arts Utrecht (Netherlands), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from MCAD.